We are often unaware of how our deep-seeded beliefs affect our everyday, present feelings. If as a child, for example, your mother told you not to go outside without any clothes on, you might have interpreted that to mean that something is wrong with your body. As children we receive hundreds of messages like this growing up! It's no wonder that we often feel not good enough and believe we may not be lovable unless we're somehow perfect.

This belief then settled into your subconscious where it quietly and subtly affects your present-moment thoughts. While you don't consciously think "I'm not good enough", you do approach a situation with a filter that interprets what happens. Remember, we don't see the world as it is, but as we are. So we let messages that conform to this belief through our filter and reject messages that don't conform. If someone is upset at us, we may default to feeling less than. If, however, someone loves us and supports us, we may reject that and stay isolated from them.

Understanding our deep-seeded beliefs are necessary to change them. But the good news is, that we can! Our brains are extremely adaptable and do a wonderful job of conforming to what we consistently think about. Hence the importance of 1) being aware of our beliefs and thoughts and 2) taking consistent steps to change them.